MLB

5 Daily Fantasy Baseball Value Plays for 8/31/18

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Max Kepler, OF, Minnesota Twins

Price: $2,400

Max Kepler has been uncharacteristically bad against right-handed pitching this season. His career-average wOBA against lefties sits at .334, and 2017 saw him post a .350 mark. In 2018, that is all the way down to .318.

He has made great contact, though, with a 38.5% hard-hit rate, 18.5% soft-hit rate and 46.4% fly-ball rate -- all better than his career averages. Despite the superior contact, his batting average on balls in play (BABIP) sits at only .226, compared to his .263 career-average and .296 from 2017. That means we can expect some regression in that area, which should be a boon for his production.

Tonight's matchup is a particularly good spot for that to happen, as he's playing at the slate's most hitter-friendly ballpark against righty Drew Hutchison and the Texas Rangers. Hutchison has an awful 5.52 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA) over 15 games in 2018, and left-handed hitters have cracked him for a .371 wOBA and 5.34 xFIP.